Vietcombank IPO sets tone for state issues
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Amy Kazmin
VIETNAM'S state-controlled Vietcombank has raised $652m in a long-awaited initial public offering that investors hope will be the catalyst for Hanoi to move ahead with share sales in other large state enterprises.
Vietcom, one of the big four state-owned commercial banks that together account for around 65 per cent of Vietnam's banking system, sold a 6.5 per cent stake to domestic and foreign investors through a Dutch auction - in which buyers had to pay what they bid for the shares.
The average bid in the auction was slightly above the 100,000 dong ($6.20) per share minimum bid set by the bank, the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange said in a statement, with bids ranging from 102,000 dong to 250,000 dong per share.
Foreign investors now own 1.92 per cent of the bank, having acquired a total of 28.7m shares - or around 29 per cent of the 97.5m shares on offer. Foreign investment in Vietnamese banks is capped at 30 per cent.
Hoang Kien, portfolio manager at Dragon Capital, a boutique investment bank said the minimum bid was already considered high by many investors given the bank's financial data.
Vietcombank, formally known as the Bank of Foreign Trade, will not be listed on the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange until the end of the first quarter of next year at the earliest, in keeping with Vietnam's practice of separating 1POs from the formal share debut on the official, regulated market.
Initially, Vietcombank planned to sell a stake to a strategic foreign investor before offering shares to the wider public. But negotiations with potential partners - said to include such players at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch - reportedly fell through because of disagreement on price.
Many investors hope the Vietcombank IPO will lead to further privatisation of state-owned companies. Foreign portfolio investors have raised about $2.0bn to invest in Vietnamese assets, eager to gain exposure to an economy that authorities forecast will grow 9.0 per cent this year. Several other state- owned banks have also been identified for partial privatisation.
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FT Syndication Service
VIETNAM'S state-controlled Vietcombank has raised $652m in a long-awaited initial public offering that investors hope will be the catalyst for Hanoi to move ahead with share sales in other large state enterprises.
Vietcom, one of the big four state-owned commercial banks that together account for around 65 per cent of Vietnam's banking system, sold a 6.5 per cent stake to domestic and foreign investors through a Dutch auction - in which buyers had to pay what they bid for the shares.
The average bid in the auction was slightly above the 100,000 dong ($6.20) per share minimum bid set by the bank, the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange said in a statement, with bids ranging from 102,000 dong to 250,000 dong per share.
Foreign investors now own 1.92 per cent of the bank, having acquired a total of 28.7m shares - or around 29 per cent of the 97.5m shares on offer. Foreign investment in Vietnamese banks is capped at 30 per cent.
Hoang Kien, portfolio manager at Dragon Capital, a boutique investment bank said the minimum bid was already considered high by many investors given the bank's financial data.
Vietcombank, formally known as the Bank of Foreign Trade, will not be listed on the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange until the end of the first quarter of next year at the earliest, in keeping with Vietnam's practice of separating 1POs from the formal share debut on the official, regulated market.
Initially, Vietcombank planned to sell a stake to a strategic foreign investor before offering shares to the wider public. But negotiations with potential partners - said to include such players at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch - reportedly fell through because of disagreement on price.
Many investors hope the Vietcombank IPO will lead to further privatisation of state-owned companies. Foreign portfolio investors have raised about $2.0bn to invest in Vietnamese assets, eager to gain exposure to an economy that authorities forecast will grow 9.0 per cent this year. Several other state- owned banks have also been identified for partial privatisation.
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FT Syndication Service